Les grands hommes de l'Antiquité et la réflexion sur le génie en Allemagne de 1760 à 1790

Gérard Laudin : The great men of antiquity and reflection on genius in Germany, 1760-90. In Germany from 1750 to 1790, studies of classical antiquity clung to the traditional model of exemplarity. The great man, who was equated with the genius, was seen by Gatterer (1761) as the guide who contributed to the progress of humanity ; these legislators, generals, scientists were praised as builders, to the detriment of conquerors, seen, on the contrary, as destroyers. The ambivalence of heroic genius, developed in drama in the 1770s, was emphasized in 1788 by Beck, who was more attuned to political mechanisms and abandoned the model of great men ; he demystified radically the great conquerors in favour of the Gracchi, for example, adopting a republican perspective alien to Gatterer, who was very attached to enlightened despotism.